Vending apparatus for dispensing consumer items of varying types are well recognized and employ numerous configurations, usually dictated by the nature of the product. Self-service delivery devices for candy and tobacco items usually utilize a plurality of adjacent, stacked arrays, each with a bottom discharge assistant, in view of the common configuration of the product involved. Alternatively, the stacked arrays may be disposed in cylindrical arrangement, again relying upon gravity to advance the stacked products to a bottom discharge assistant. In this latter instance, the individual vertical arrays may be angularly indexed to a single, common discharge mechanism.
Examples of the above described systems will be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 816,975 issued to Gilbert on Apr. 3, 1906; 1,987,914 issued to Smith on Jan. 15, 1935; and 3,243,034 issued on Mar. 29, 1966 to Mueller et al. Further development in the automated delivery field will be evidenced by the apparatus presented in U.S. Pat. No. 4,668,150 issued May 26, 1987 to Blumberg and which illustrates a plurality of vertically spaced apart product bins with a single product discharge mechanism mounted for both vertical and horizontal shifting to access any one bin.
None of the above referenced devices suggest the novel construction advanced by the present invention and which offers improved speed, efficiency and flexibility on the part of both the vendor and customer.